Darcie Vincent engineered one of the most impressive turnarounds in the country by restoring the Appalachian State University women’s basketball into a perennial contender in the Southern Conference and a force to be reckoned with on a national stage in just five short seasons.
After inheriting a program that had managed just one winning season in the 12 years prior to her arrival, Vincent has coached Appalachian to two SoCon regular-season titles, a pair of 25-plus win seasons and three-straight WNIT appearances.
Under her guidance, the Mountaineers have posted a 104-59 record during her time in the High Country, including a 68-32 conference record. During her time on the Mountain, Vincent has coached two SoCon Player of the Year honorees in Sam Ramirez (2010-11) and Anna Freeman (2011-12), a conference Defensive Player of the Year in Freeman (2010-11), Freshman of the Year in Maryah Sydnor (2011-12) and eleven all-SoCon selections. She earned the league’s Coach of the Year honor in 2009-10 and 2010-11, becoming just the second coach in App State history to win the award (Linda Robinson won the award four times in her career).
After rebuilding the Mountaineer squad in 2008-09 season, the Apps have spanned an unprecendented run under Vincent with four consecutive 20-win seasons from 2009-10 to ‘12-13, the first time in school history that the Mountaineers have strung together four-consecutive 20-win campaigns. The stretch has included the Mountaineers’ first-ever postseason win at the 2010 Women’s Basketball Invitational, where the team won the inaugaral tournament, and three-straight WNIT appearances.
Perhaps no victory was bigger, however, than Appalachian’s 66-62 upset over NC State in the second round of the WNIT on March 17, 2012. The victory, which marked the school’s first-ever win over the Wolfpack in 25 tries, propelled the Mountaineers into the tournament’s Sweet 16. The win made the Apps the first SoCon team to advance past the second round of the WNIT since Chattanooga made its way to the semifinals of the tournament in 1984 in what was then a three-round, eight-team competition.
Considered to be one of the finest defensive minds in the nation, Vincent’s squads have ranked among the SoCon’s top teams in scoring and rebounding defense in three of the past four seasons while leading the league in steals over the past three seasons. In addition to an aggressive, athletic defense, Vincent has also seen her team excel on the offensive side of the court. As one of the most face-paced offenses in the nation, the Mountaineers have led the conference in scoring each of the past three seasons, averaging 69.5 points per game over their last 96 contests.
Prior to her coming to Appalachian, Vincent was widely regarded as one of the nation’s best coaches at the Division II level where she led California (Pa.) to a national championship and was a four-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference coach of the year. During her time with the Vulcans, Vincent posted a record of 212-47 including a 35-1 mark during the 2004 season when the Vulcans won an NCAA Division II national title. In addition to the team’s overall record and national title, the Vulcans also posted a conference record of 82-14 during her eight seasons at the helm of the program.
No stranger to national success, Vincent coached at Slippery Rock for four years prior to her tenure at Cal U and led the team to a PSAC title and the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 2000. Vincent was 52-54 in her four years at Slippery Rock where she took the team to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1999-2000. Her mark of 23-7 that season stands as the most wins in school history. The team’s three NCAA tournament wins came by an average of 15 points.
She began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Duquesne, then spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Slippery Rock before taking over the head coaching reins for The Rock in 1996. In two years as an assistant under Laura Williges, Vincent helped The Rock to winning seasons, earning 21 and 14 wins.
Vincent earned a bachelor’s degree in business marketing (1992) and a master’s in business administration (1994) from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where she was named all-Atlantic 10 three times and earned Kodak all-district honors.
She left her mark in the school’s record book, as she still ranks second in career steals (323), third in career scoring (1,538), assists (555) and free throws and fifth in free-throw percentage (.803) and career three-point field goals (151). She holds the distinction as being the first female inducted into the Duquesne Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000. A guard during her playing career, Vincent averaged 14.2 points per game for her career and more than 17 points per game her final three years as a player.
